Dear Dr. Laura -

Long time listener and big time fan of yours. Saw you a couple of years ago in Redwood City, California.

My husband and I moved to Florida a year ago, to go have fun and travel. Our less pricey rental was to be our home base. He soon came down with what turned out to be terminal cancer and passed away 5 months later at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. My boss in Half Moon Bay, California, offered me my job back and I moved back home to familiar surroundings and loved ones.

I have lost 30 pounds and have never felt better. I am happy and dating and people are astounded, and even jealous, that I am doing so well.

Perhaps my secret to happiness was experiencing my husband's death and how every day, every moment is a gift which cannot be wasted. When I walked out of that hospice center for the last time, I felt my body, checked my legs and arms, and said to myself, "Well, I'm still alive - I didn't die. I've got to get busy - there's so much to do in life! Let's not waste a second." And I've been the Energizer bunny ever since, not wasting a single moment, except to sit with a good friend and have a beer.

May God bless you and all you do for our troops and their families. My husband served 26 years and I was proud to be called his girlfriend.

Very truly yours,

Julie